AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As he was leaving, Kai waved his hand and the black weiqi stone that had been sitting in the pit of Xiang’s stomach now rested in his palm. After giving it a bitter smile, he shoved it into his pocket.
The rest of the house was silent as he strolled along the winding hallway. He peeked through doorways to find the common area rooms were all empty. The more distantly spaced bedrooms were filled with the soft breaths of the sleeping and some bits of whispered conversation. Out the windows, he glimpsed darks skies slowly turning to paler shades of gray with the rising sun.
Wanting to walk through old memories one last time, Kai passed through the kitchen and was about to step onto the rear porch when he found Junjie sitting on the edge, a fat orange cat stretched out across his lap. The low guttural purr was ridiculously loud coming from such a tiny creature, but its pleasure was clear with every pass of Junjie’s hand over his stomach.
“You shouldn’t leave,” Junjie murmured before Kai could retreat into the house unnoticed.
Kai hesitated. It would be nothing to erase the memory of Junjie seeing him that morning, but it felt disrespectful after everything they’d been through and how this clan had accepted him within their ranks.
To his surprise, he sat on the edge of the porch next to the vampire, watching as Junjie stroked that thick orange and white fur again and again. There was something peaceful about being near Junjie. Xiao Dan was almost as peaceful, but there was a weight to his presence as well because of his position as head of the clan. A nervousness crept into Kai around Xiao Dan, wanting his approval because he knew that mattered to Xiang.
But with Junjie, there was a quiet stillness that he wanted to soak in for as long as possible.
“Are you feeling better?” Junjie inquired, as he moved his hand to scratch the cat’s chin. Its big yellow eyes closed, and the purring grew even louder. It was enough to make him wonder what it would feel like if Xiang scratched his belly while he was in dragon form.
No!
No belly scratches!
He was supposed to be leaving, getting away from Xiang so he and the entire Zhang clan would be safe.
“I’m feeling much better now. Thank you for your help and concern.”
“Why do you think leaving Xiang is a good idea?” Junjie asked. “Has he not shown his love and willingness to sacrifice himself for you?”
Ouch.
For all his quiet, Kai had not expected the vampire to be so blunt. However, he could not fault him for his direct approach or his concern for his clan mate.
“I’m afraid that Xiang is too willing to sacrifice himself. The risk he and Rei took was too great to rescue me. While I appreciate their efforts, I don’t want them to put themselves in danger like that again.” Resting his elbow on his knee, Kai bent his head and shoved his hand through his hair before resting his forehead on his hand.
“Xiang and Rei are both adults capable of deciding for themselves. They’re also trained fighters, experienced in deadly battles. They understand the risks and their own limitations. Leaving now shows that you don’t respect Xiang’s ability to decide.”
Kai frowned at the man next to him, but Junjie kept his eyes locked on the cat, who continued to stretch out more and more in his lap. “This isn’t about Xiang’s abilities or disrespecting his autonomy. I’m afraid he is allowing his emotions to cloud his judgments. He and Rei went up against hundreds, if not thousands, of fae to rescue me. It’s a miracle they survived. That was not a sound decision. It was a decision based on…on…”
“Love?”
Kai huffed and shifted his head to rest his chin in the palm of his hand, his glare now directed at the garden in front of them. He had no experience with that emotion. He wasn’t entirely sure any dragon understood love. They were creatures of power, duty, and obsession. Where was love supposed to fit into that?
He knew Xiang was his and belonged in his hoard. The crown jewel of his hoard, really. As much as he wanted to keep him within his hoard, he couldn’t. He couldn’t protect Xiang, and if he truly valued him, he needed to remove the danger from that precious item. In this case, he was the danger to his precious gem.
“Leaving will protect Xiang and all of your clan,” Kai stated after a lengthy silence. “My last two encounters with Queen Belladonna have proved to me that I’m not strong enough to defeat her. It is only a matter of time before she summons me again. I will give up my life rather than follow her orders, but what if I don’t die in time? I don’t wish to harm any of you.”
“And you believe that if you leave us now, you’ll be able to stop her from ordering you to kill Xiang or anyone in our clan?”
Kai said nothing as he watched the wind stir the leaves in the trees. The faint light from the garden lamps and the glow from the house caught on raindrops clinging to the leaves, causing them to glisten and wink in the darkness. At first, he thought about flying around the world, to return to China and put as much distance between himself and the fae. Maybe that would weaken the power the sword held over him.
But running would still leave the Zhang clan and the humans with the problem of the fae. Was he not the same dragon who ended the drought and saved the village at the request of Huangdi? Had he not kept the rivers full and flowing so the traders could move their goods from town to town, feeding countless humans? He might always keep apart from the humans, but he never turned a blind eye to their suffering when he could help them.
So, he was forming a new plan where he would attack the fae stronghold, catching them by surprise and hopefully defeating the queen before she could regain her full strength. If he could kill Queen Belladonna, maybe the Zhang clan and the others would have an easier time of forcing the fae from this world. Even if he died in the fight, he’d be happy knowing that Xiang was safer.
“Did you know Xiang killed his own father?”
Junjie’s softly spoken words jerked Kai from his thoughts. He sat upright, blinking at the vampire, waiting for him to continue.
“Xiang is a jerk,” Junjie said, and Kai bristled. The cat in Junjie’s lap rolled over and growled at Kai as if it could sense his growing anger, but Junjie ignored them both. “Xiang joined the Sword of the Heavenly Garden Sect at the same time as me. He was loud, obnoxious, and constantly challenged anyone he encountered to a fight as if he needed to prove himself to the world. His father was a powerful politician in Emperor Wu’s government. He sent Xiang to the sect with the goal of Xiang becoming a general in the emperor’s army.”
“Is that not what Xiang wanted?”
